MADISON, Wis. — The outdoor recreation industry in Wisconsin set a new record by contributing $8.7 billion to the state’s gross domestic product in 2021, marking a 14.1% increase over the previous year through tourism initiatives as the country moved toward an endemic.
This success story was shared jointly between Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary-designee Anne Sayers and Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation Director Mary Monroe Brown. The sum was deducted from data collected yearly by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Of this sum, $2.8 billion came directly from travel and tourism — whether it be residents visiting another part of Wisconsin or people coming from out-of-town.
Nearly 90,000 jobs were supported by the outdoor recreation industry, capitalizing on the vast boating, fishing, hunting and sporting opportunities presented by the landscape of Wisconsin. Approx. 10% of those jobs were in the manufacturing industry despite supply chain issues damaging that sector worldwide.
The growth rate of jobs in the outdoor recreation sector increased by 7.3% more than the state average for all sectors.
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“Outdoor recreation is part of who we are as a people and a state—it improves our quality of life, draws visitors from all over the world, supports tens of thousands, and serves as a major economic driver for communities across Wisconsin,” Gov. Evers said. “I’m proud of our work to create the Office of Outdoor Recreation and to ensure this critical industry recovers from the pandemic, and these numbers are an excellent testament to this important work and the Office’s success.”
Gov. Evers created the Dept. of Tourism in 2019 to establish Wisconsin as a prime destination for outdoor recreationists across the country and beyond.
“Our traveler surveys consistently show outdoor recreation is a top marketable reason people visit Wisconsin,” Secretary-designee Sayers said. “Supporting the entire outdoor recreation industry through the work of the Office of Outdoor Recreation is essential to safeguard and enhance a significant tourism offering that helped buoy our industry during the most unprecedented challenges of the pandemic.”
Fishing, outdoor apparel, motorcycling/ATVing, boating and bicycling were some of the leading categories by fiscal contribution to the Wisconsin GDP.
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